Jedi of the Republic: Mace Windu comic #4 by Matt Owens

"Jedi of the Republic : Mace Windu #4" written by Matt Owens, illustrated by Denys Cowan, Edgar Salazar, Roberto Poggi, Scott Hanna, and Guru-eFX
     A wonderful issue with a lot of depth and background. It really fleshed out Mace Windu's character, giving us some information we would have come to expect about him and some character development that came as a surprise. It really packed a punch.
     We start off with a flashback of Mace Windu as a Padawan and his hair is glorious! Super 80s throwback! His master was apparently Cyslin Myr who appears to be Mirialan, the species of Luminara Unduli. They are on Mathas, a planet plagued with a respiratory disease, and there is no way to combat the illness. A "Jedi prophet" working for money has taken up residence and it is Cyslin and Mace's job to stop the heresy. Mace Windu's mind is on violence towards the usurper as would be expected. And his confrontation with Master Drooz, as the man calls himself, mimics his confrontation with Palpatine so vividly it gave me chills.
     Then we are back in the present with Prosset Dibs and Mace in the middle of a showdown. Rissa is distressed by the fight and makes a poignant statement: "We are supposed to be leaders and role models" and with very real evil in the galaxy, the Jedi are supposed to be the ones to save it. She can't see how the current Jedi-Jedi battle could be working toward either of these ideals...and for good reason. The whole situation strikes me as treasonous from both sides!
     Mace takes an interesting approach to the Jedi going to war by saying, "There are no gray areas. We cannot afford them. That is where men set their own terms. And that is where true wickedness festers." I was a little confused by this because the series started with Mace questioning the Jedi's very role in the galaxy-wide conflict. He seemed to be waffling on how he felt about the Jedi going to war earlier and I don't understand why now he sees it as a necessary evil. Perhaps he has just grown to accept it and has thought about it enough to see the reality of the circumstances?
     After Dibs makes it clear he plans to run from the Jedi to "forge his own path," Mace calls him out on deserting and says he will hunt him down...woah! Hold on now--since when are the Jedi a cult?? This threw me for a loop!
     The story line goes back and forth between the flashback on Mathas and the present on Hissrich. I loved this format because it had me reading quickly and eagerly to see what would happen in each storyline. So much was going on, and I was enrapt.
     We end this issue with the perhaps final face-off between AD-W4/the droids and the Jedi. I'm excited to read the final outcome! And I have my fingers crossed that more of these "Jedi of the Republic" comics will be written about other masters of the Order because I am loving being transported back to the Prequel era with more stories that just further and further deepen the richness of a galaxy far, far away!

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